Bedingungen und Formen „gütlichen Einvernehmens“

Compromises are the creative result of a peaceful handling of conflicts. They become possible if the conflicting parties are held together by mutual dependencies and if some facilitating conditions exist, most importantly the divisibility of the object the fighting parties compete for, possibilities for compensation, and the “enlarging of the shadow of future” (Axelrod). However, compromises can remain contested and instable if one of the participating parties thinks they do not accord to the principle of “fair exchange” or, furthermore, if relevant “third parties” believe their externalities not to accord to “public welfare”. Political regulations thought to inhibit these effects do inhibit the working out of compromises, too. Making compromises stable in effect limits the chance that they come about.     

Individual and organizational consequences of employee-determined flexibility in shift schedules of police patrols

This paper determines the impacts of employee-determined flexibility (self-rostering) within police patrol shiftwork systems. The study is based on a cross sectional online survey with police patrol officers from one state of the Federal Republic of Germany (n = 927). The results show that pure employee-determined flexibility on the one hand leads to a good compatibility of shiftwork with social life (individual consequences). On the other hand, it is associated with a loss of work-related social structures and drawbacks concerning work-climate, leadership, as well as reciprocal trust and support (organizational consequences). In contrast, these findings are almost reverted under the traditional Four Shift Groups System which does not provide any self-determined elements. However, a Five Shift Groups System with an employer determined basic roster and some employee determined flexibility provides comparable positive results as the full flexible system considering work–life-balance, but does not share its significant negative effects on social community at work as well as disadvantages regarding leadership.     

Zur Soziologie des Terrorismus

Berliner Journal für Soziologie -